ZANESVILLE - Residents along Arch Hill Road will soon have access to water service from the county.

Muskingum County commissioners opened a bid Thursday for a project extending water service to the area. The project will provide service to approximately 50 residents, according to Don Madden, manager of the Muskingum County Water Department.

Once completed, residents in the area can run a line from their residences, at their own expense, and tap into the meter pit at the edge of the road for a $500 fee.

The project began after residents in the community petitioned for water service. The Arch Hill Road project is just one of several water expansion projects the water department is working on this year.

Residents near Barkers Run Road, Rix Mills Road, Ruraldale Road and Chandlersville-Herron Road have also petitioned the department for water service, at a variety of costs for each project. Other projects are still in the planning phase and have yet to be announced.

"This is one of the busiest years that we've had," Madden said. "We're always looking for more projects. It's a matter of finding the funding to make them feasible."

To fund the projects, the water department often looks for loans as well as grant funding from state and federal agencies, primarily from the Water Supply Revolving Loan Account and Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance grants from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The department has also received grant funding from the Community Development Block grant program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers. The latter two provided $240,000 and $975,000, respectively, for the approximately $3 million water project along Route 555 in 2017, the department's largest recent project, which provided water to more than 250 homes in the county.

The Arch Hill Road project is projected to cost approximately $800,000, Madden said, with funding coming from a loan and from county money.

Bids are still out on the project. After review of the proposals by the county engineer, the county commission may award the bid next week. A timeline for construction on the project has yet to be determined.

After a weather delay on Monday, construction on the Chandlersville project is slated to begin this week. The project will provide water to approximately 54 homes, as well as bring public water within 1.5 miles of "The Wilds," which is working with state officials for water service funding.